Da Vinci cover-up hidden by monks for 500 years

by Martin Penner

The monks may not have liked Leonardo's fighting knights (PHOTOGRAPHS KALPA GROUP).

Sketches hidden beneath one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous works have been revealed to the public for the first time after scientists discovered the provocative images under a thick layer of paint.

A bloody skirmish between knights, a clutch of figures rebuilding a ruined temple and even an elephant were carefully laid out by Leonardo in the preparatory “under-drawing�?for his Adoration of the Magi.

In the version of the painting known to the world, in which much of the underdrawing is reproduced, these elements have been hidden.

Parts of the original design were deliberately obscured �?sometimes with swipes of charcoal �?because in 15th century Florence they were deemed unsuitable for a picture of the infant Jesus and the wise men.

Maurizio Seracini, an engineer who makes scientific investigations of artworks, discovered the discrepancies in 2002 using multispectrum imaging. His work helped to establish that the Adoration was only partly the work of the Renaissance genius.

Signor Seracini demonstrated that the brown monochrome painting on top of the drawing was carried out by an anonymous, minor artist about 20 years after Leonardo had finished and abandoned the preparatory work.

Chiara Pagnini, an art historian based in Rome, agrees. “Someone like Leonardo would never do his preparatory drawing and then paint something different on top.The most plausible explanation is that the people who commissioned the work didn’t like it.�?/P>

The infrared images showing the concealed elements had been seen only by a few art specialists until Signor Seracini unveiled them publicly for the first time in Florence this week. A video illustrating his findings is at www.florence.tv.

Story continues at timesonline.co.uk